W.A. Kofi-Bediako1, G. Sama1, A.A. Acquah1
1University of Health and Allied Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Ho, Ghana
Background: Nurses are at a high risk of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) due to numerous ergonomic risk exposures associated with their job. However, not many studies have been conducted to evaluate the level of ergonomic risk and its possible association with the development of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses in Ghana.
Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate ergonomic risk factors and the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses at the Ho Teaching Hospital.
Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 139 participants was conducted from January to March 2019 among nurses at the Ho Teaching Hospital. The Nordic questionnaire was used to evaluate the prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among nurses. The Workplace Ergonomic Risk Assessment (WERA) questionnaire was used to evaluate ergonomic risk factors associated with three major nursing tasks which were wound dressing, patient transfer/movement and measuring patient blood pressure. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize data on musculoskeletal disorders. Chi square was used to determine possible associations between demographic variables and work-related musculoskeletal disorders. Significance was considered at p ≤ 0.05.
Results: There was a 94.2% prevalence of Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs) among nurses in the Ho Teaching Hospital with a significantly higher (p=0.031) prevalence in females (97.1%) than males (86.5%). Age and working hours were significantly associated with MSDs (p=0.048, p=0.001 respectively). The most prevalent MSDs per body region were low back pain (73.3%), upper back pain (55.7%), ankle/feet pain (55.0%) and neck pain (35.5%). There was medium ergonomic risk with patient movement/transfer (WERA score 37) and wound dressing (WERA score 35). Although a low total ergonomic risk (WERA score 20) was recorded for measuring blood pressure, there was medium exposure risk related to awkward postures.
Conclusion(s): There was high prevalence of self-reported WMSDs among nurses at Ho Teaching Hospital which could be attributed to medium exposure to ergonomic risk factors. There is the need for further investigation of tasks performed in order to propose appropriate interventions for reducing associated ergonomic risk factors.
Implications: There is a need to reduce the risk of developing MSDs among nurses by implementing education programs aimed at creating awareness about proper working posture and patient transfer techniques.
Funding, acknowledgements: This study was self-funded
Keywords: Work-related musculoskeletal disorders, Ergonomic risk factors, Nurses
Topic: Occupational health & ergonomics
Did this work require ethics approval? Yes
Institution: University of Health and Allied Sciences
Committee: Research Ethics Committee (UHAS-REC) of Institute of Health Research
Ethics number: UHAS-REC A.4 [298] 18-19
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
